Konoha Drunkard

"Not bad! Cough, cough! You've managed the Roots well these past few days. While I'm still recovering from my injuries, you continue to manage the Roots, but there's no need to send anyone out anymore. Just bring everyone back." Although his physical injuries hadn't healed yet, his emotional wounds had been healed. Danzo looked at Yamanaka Hiro with satisfaction.

"Lord Danzo, rest assured, I will manage Root perfectly during this time and await your triumphant return," Yamanaka Hio assured him, puffing out his chest.

"You go back first, I'll leave the root to you." Although the breeze felt nice, it's still time to recover from the injury, so it's not advisable to be blown around too much.

........

"Lord Shanks, are you really alright? I mean, there's news that someone in the village has gone missing." On the way back with Shanks, Itachi asked worriedly.

"What could possibly happen? It's just some bored pranksters. You'll understand when you're older. The village isn't as wonderful as you think. No matter where you are, there will be conflict wherever there are people," Shanks said nonchalantly.

"Human nature is so complex..."

The little weasel god looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle.

"...How many people has a kid even seen! And he's already lamenting about life." Shanks vigorously ruffled his hair and complained.

.......

After Shanks returned Itachi to the Uchiha clan and handed him over to his father, he headed towards Orochimaru's research institute.

He also wanted to see what Orochimaru had been up to lately, that Danzo was thinking about him for no reason.

"Wow! Little Red Bean is getting prettier and prettier as she grows up!" As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the research institute, he saw a little girl of about ten years old standing at the door, probably waiting for him.

"Lord Shanks, Master is waiting for you inside, so I won't go in." At this moment, Little Red Bean was still very polite to her elders. However, Shanks really didn't know what Orochimaru saw in her that made him take her as his disciple. As for her background, being the niece of the vice-captain of the Anbu did give her some influence. However, if Orochimaru was unwilling, Mitarashi Shishou probably couldn't do anything about it.

As for her outstanding talent... that's all nonsense. She'll only become a Special Jonin more than ten years later. What talent could she possibly have? Even Kakashi's future wife, the girl with the colored contacts, has become a Jonin.

"Great scientist, you don't seem to be on very friendly terms with my brother Danzo lately. Haven't you heard the rumors?" Shanks walked into the research lab. Snake, as always, stood quietly in front of the machine, looking at the dense symbols in his hands.

"Heh, our advisor Danzo's ambition to become Hokage hasn't diminished at all. That's good, too. Being tied down in the village prevents him from conducting much research." Orochimaru's eyes never left the symbol on his hand.

"You don't really want to leave the village, do you?" Shanks glanced at him sideways.

"Captain, don't you think the village is slowly decaying?" Snake squinted at Shanks.

"Well! Whether it's decaying or not has nothing to do with me. I'm a man of my word. I promised three people that I would watch over Konoha for them, so naturally I'm going to stay in Konoha. Why worry about so much? As long as the village isn't wiped out, that's all that matters." Shanks shrugged indifferently.

"Hehe, perhaps only you, Captain, see things most clearly in this world," Snake said with a laugh.

"Sigh! Jiraiya went on a trip, and you're gone too. There are fewer and fewer of us old friends left." Shanks downed half a bottle of wine in one gulp, looked up at the sky, and sighed.

"A person's time is always limited, and perhaps the captain will make this kind of remark more and more often in the future," Snake said calmly.

"I know you're a great scientist, spending your limited time on limitless things! Remember to come see me for a drink sometime, don't always make me come to you." Shanks grumbled before disappearing. He couldn't be bothered to try and persuade Snake; Snake was working hard for his dream, he should support him. As Stephen Chow said, what's the difference between someone without dreams and a salted fish?

346. Snake is not a genius.

Snake looked at the back of the salted fish and his eyes reddened. Of all the ninjas in the world, who was he closest to? It should be his salted fish captain. From childhood to adulthood, no matter what he did, the salted fish captain always supported him. Even when it came to researching the First Hokage's cells, which was forbidden by the village, the captain gave his full support and even helped him find the Second Hokage's research data. Where can you find such a good captain?

The thought of leaving the village where he had lived for decades made Snake a little reluctant, but for the sake of his lofty dream, he was willing to give up anything, including his good friend Jiraiya!

After thinking about all this, Snake's eyes hardened, and he turned his head to continue staring at the symbol.

"Orochimaru-sensei, Shanks-sama left so quickly." Little Red Bean held a dumpling in one hand and kept stuffing the other into her mouth, making her little face bulge out.

"He had to leave first. After you finish eating, remember to practice the new ninjutsu from yesterday." Snake said while busy with his own things. He was very fond of this little disciple, but he wondered if he was destined to be a genius. His first disciple was someone with little talent but a strong backing, who managed to wipe out Sunagakure with four divine weapons due to some uncontrollable factors.

He didn't originally intend to accept the second one. When Mitarashi Shishou came to him, he only gave her face and met her. But he actually found that he was destined to meet Xiao Hongdou. However, Xiao Hongdou's talent was even worse than Nawaki's. Although Nawaki's talent was not good, he was able to force his way to the Jonin level just by relying on the Senju bloodline.

Little Red Bean has no bloodline limit, nor does she have an amazing brain. Apart from not gaining weight no matter how many dumplings she eats at this stage, she has no other special characteristics.

The next day, Shanks had just gotten up and was about to go find Itachi to continue the story from the previous day when a small ANBU appeared in front of him before he even left the Senju clan's territory. Needless to say, it was Hiruzen Sarutobi looking for him again.

"How come minors are allowed into the Anbu these days? Sigh! It's getting worse every year." Shanks teased the Anbu member who was wearing a fox mask and had white fur showing.

"...Lord Shanks, the Hokage requests your presence." Kakashi gave him a deadpan look from behind his mask and then disappeared. He'd already brought him along if he was asked to; he didn't want to stay here and be teased by a middle-aged man. That's just how capricious the Anbu prince is.

"...It's true what they say, having connections makes things easier." Shanks muttered as he followed Kakashi. He'd only just joined the Anbu, and he was already running errands for the Hokage. If he didn't have connections, he wouldn't even consider it.

Although there are no explicit rules in the Anbu, not just anyone can run errands for the Hokage. Newcomers to the Anbu have to endure at least three or four years before they can run errands for the Hokage. During those three or four years, they can forget about staying in Konoha for long; they are mostly sent out to carry out assassinations.

If Kadian's father hadn't been a big shot in the Dark Division, he would have had to endure three or four years to get in. Unlike now, it was originally Mingxiong's turn to join, but in order to let the young master become more familiar with the Dark Division's operations, he gave him the task. Mingxiong and the other two team members were busy patrolling the outskirts of the village.

"Captain Dark Bear just wanted me to familiarize myself with the Anbu," Kaden said calmly from the front.

"Come on! Do you think I've never been to the Anbu? When your dad and I joined the Anbu, new recruits didn't even last a few years before they were expected to slack off on Mars. That's why I quit back then. If your dad hadn't been a big shot in the Anbu, that idiot bear would have let you in." Shanks pouted.

"..." Kadian led the way, too lazy to talk to him. Why should he be blamed for having such a powerful father? He clearly relied on his talent too!

The two arrived at the Hokage Building. Kakashi jumped to the window of the Hokage's office and disappeared. Shanks walked towards the office.

"What's up, Hokage? You know I'm very busy right now." Shanks entered the Hokage's office. The three giants of Konoha were all inside, while Danzo was still lying in bed.

"You've heard the rumors these past few days, haven't you? To avoid further trouble, we'll go recommend Minato to the Daimyo today. You'll come with us too," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, taking a few puffs of his pipe. The three powerful figures of Konoha weren't fools; they figured it out immediately. Hiruzen hadn't expected his friend to be so obsessed with the Hokage position after all these years. Although he still didn't understand why his friend spread such rumors, he knew his friend was cunning and definitely had something up his sleeve. To avoid any unforeseen complications, he called his two friends together to discuss getting the Hokage position settled as soon as possible.

"You guys can go, don't bother with this superficial stuff, just call me." Shanks pouted. The daimyo of the various ninja countries were just puppets supported by their villages. The daimyo of the Land of Fire was similar. Before Konoha elected Hokage, there had never been any recommendations from the daimyo of the Land of Fire. It was purely for Hiruzen Sarutobi to show others how much he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, respected their daimyo during his decades in office.

"They specifically asked to see you, so please do them the honor! Besides, the wine in Daming Prefecture is quite good," Tsurugi Koharu advised.

"..." Since his own people had spoken, he had no choice but to comply. Shanks was speechless. He really didn't know what he could talk about with this uncle of Tsunade. At most, he could only swindle money from him, but... swindling his own country's daimyo was just too disgusting.

Five hundred ordinary human clones were created to wait for Itachi on the Hokage Rock, while the main body, along with the three leaders of Konoha and a group of Anbu members, headed to the Daimyo's residence.

The Hokage's outing is all about prestige, right? Hundreds of Anbu members surrounded the three Hokage and Shanks in the center, forming a circle. Four members of the Hyuga clan activated their Byakugan to keep watch from above, below, left, and right. Shanks finally got to experience what it's like to be treated like royalty.

"Kakashi, are you really that carefree in the Anbu? You even manage to travel with us." Shanks teased the little white-haired guy with the fox mask behind him the whole way.

"My name is now Kuroyuki!"

Kadian casually reminded him not to call out names randomly everywhere.

"Tch! I've seen you since you were a baby, I know exactly how long your little penis is, do you really think you're a vixen just because you have a fox face?" Shanks pinched his head, vigorously rubbing his white hair with one hand.

"...Damn it." Kadian muttered under his breath, struggling incessantly, but with his frail body, even using all his strength was useless.

"..."

A group of ANBU members watched as the young master was bullied, acting as if they didn't see anything and continuing to walk forward. Even the Hokage hadn't spoken; what were they to him?

347. They've been exaggerating too much over the years.

"Welcome, Hokage and distinguished guests, to the Daimyo's residence." The Konoha group had barely arrived at the Daimyo's residence when a chubby, fair-skinned man wearing a flamboyant bright red robe, carrying a small palm-leaf fan, wearing a small black hat on his fat pig head, his face smeared with thick flour, and speaking in a sissy manner, appeared. He was truly a monster.

"Hehe, Your Excellency is too kind. We are the ones who have disturbed you this time." Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly puffed on his pipe and gave the Daimyo a slight nod in a very respectful manner.

"Yo! This must be the famous Shanks of Konoha, right? It's been decades since I've seen him, and he's become more and more manly. After all this time, he never comes to visit his old friend. Really!" The daimyo glanced at Shanks behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, gave Shanks a wink in a effeminate manner, and even gently patted Shanks' pectoral muscles with his small fan.

"...Really? I never expected that after all these years, your name would become such a handsome and dashing figure." Shanks's domineering aura almost left his body. Damn, this is really something! He was just a chubby, silly kid when he was young. What has this kid gone through all these years to become like this? And how did he even have all those sons and daughters?

"Haha, please excuse my rudeness. Everyone, please come in." After the formalities, the daimyo invited everyone into the mansion. The daimyo's mansion in the Land of Fire was much larger than that of the daimyo in the Land of Wind. Although he was a puppet, the grandeur of the mansion truly dazzled Shanks. Having lived in this world for so many years, he had never actually entered a daimyo's mansion before. Today, he finally witnessed it firsthand. It was no ordinary tycoon's residence; it was even more dazzling than the gold-plated decorations of the daimyo's mansion in the Land of Wind. Even with hundreds of people from Konoha in the main hall, it didn't feel crowded.

"The main reason we've come here is to tell the Daimyo that I've been Hokage for decades, and now that I'm getting old, my energy is limited. So I'd like to recommend Minato Namikaze as the next Hokage," Hiruzen Sarutobi said to the Daimyo.

"Minato Namikaze? Is that the 'Yellow Flash'? That young man is quite good. I've met him once, and he's very handsome!" Daimyo's eyes sparkled as he seemed to be thinking about something.

"Ahem! That's right, Lord Daimyo, the Yellow Flash. I believe he has the ability to lead our Konoha to become the Fourth Hokage." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the effeminate Daimyo and regretted coming over. This guy couldn't even tell the difference between male and female. If it were a girl, it would be fine to comment on her, but mentioning Minato Namikaze, can't you tone down your lewdness a bit?

"But why didn't the Fourth Hokage bring Konoha's Red-Haired Shanks, or even Konoha's White Fang? They're both good-looking, especially Konoha's White Fang. I heard that Sunagakure's advisor, Chiyo, has been in love with him for many years!" The Daimyo stroked his chin with a serious expression. People who didn't know the situation might think that the Daimyo was thinking about Konoha, but in fact, he was discussing who was prettier.

"puff!"

"Haha, forget about me. I'm not as good-looking as Konoha's White Fang. But if we're talking about good-looking, you don't know, Daimyo. The most beautiful people in the ninja world are the Minazuki clan. How about I go and catch one for you tomorrow and make him Hokage?" Shanks said, spraying his wine all over Kakashi's face. Damn, it turns out that choosing a Hokage is based on looks. No wonder Danzo had no chance for so many years, just look at those two symbols on his chin.

"......"

Kakashi wiped the wine that Shanks had sprayed all over his face, rolled his dead fish eyes, and said, "Let's get down to business. Can't you be serious for once?"

However, after hearing about his father's scandal, Kakashi fell into deep thought. He never expected his father to have such great charm, that he could make the Sand Village's super advisor have been infatuated with him for decades. That's really amazing.

"Ahem! Daimyo, I agree to let Minato Namikaze become the Fourth Hokage." Koharu Utatane forcefully interrupted Shanks and the Daimyo's conversation.

"Since you all agree, then so be it! Play the music." Seeing that the Hokage and the higher-ups of Konoha had already made their decision, the Daimyo said indifferently. He had only fought for the position of Daimyo in the first place so that he could enjoy life more. He didn't care about power, and couldn't care about it.

Just look at Konoha's fighting strength to know. His twelve bodyguards are indeed very powerful, but that's relative. They can't afford to be defeated by just one Yellow Flash.

"To be honest, the reason I wanted to meet Shanks is because my youngest son was born a month ago. I've heard that Shanks is very good at teaching children, so I'd like to ask him to take him on as your disciple when he turns three. What do you think?" the Daimyo said to Shanks while watching the song and dance.

"Haha, forget it. I'm getting old. Lately, just going up to the second floor makes my back ache. I don't have the energy to teach anyone. It's better for him to receive an elite education in Daming Prefecture." Shanks chuckled. He was joking, wasn't he? Did he want me to be laughed at like Snake?

Since Rope Tree became famous, Snake Uncle has also been labeled as the founder of the "perverted style," a label that is hard to shake off, since he is Rope Tree's teacher.

What if this daimyo's youngest son becomes the biggest show-off in the ninja world? He still has some pride.

"That's a real shame, but it's alright. Do you still have your secret manual? If so, I can exchange it for money with you." The daimyo revealed his true purpose.

"Secret manual? What secret manual?" Shanks looked at the name with a question mark on his face.

"How could you forget? It's the secret manual you mentioned that would make me stronger in battle. You wanted to sell it to me back then, but I was too young and didn't have that much money. I've always remembered it." Daimyo was clearly a little excited. If he hadn't had too little pocket money back then and didn't have any siblings to borrow money from, he would have borrowed money to buy it long ago. Recently, he only remembered that when he was a child, Konoha's Shanks had tried to sell him a manual that was supposedly left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.

"......"

Everyone in the hall looked at Shanks with curiosity, wanting to see what secret technique could make this flying pig become stronger and stronger in battle.

"........"

Shanks was also bewildered after hearing this. It had been so many years, how could he still remember what he had boasted about to his childhood friend back then...?

Moreover, he has made so many boasts over the years that he could easily release a whole set of them.

"Uh... well, you know, the Senju clan has been declining since the patriarchs passed away. Because they needed to make a living, they sold many things, including the one you mentioned. Sigh!" Since he didn't know what he had boasted about back then, he could only offer a forced explanation.

"Really? No wonder the Senju clan sold their last two mines last time! For the Land of Fire, for Konoha, the Senju have really gone through a lot!" the Daimyo said, moved.

A group of secret agents stared at the two men, dumbfounded. They were truly impressed that they could be fooled like that.

348. His name was also that of a legendary hero.

"You know Princess Tsunade, right? She's born with the fate of a gambling god and the luck of a gambling demon. The Senju clan doesn't have much left for her to gamble with. Tell me, a princess of the Land of Fire, doesn't even have gambling funds? Is that acceptable? If people from other countries knew, wouldn't they laugh at our Konoha for being poor? Laughing at our Konoha is one thing, but laughing at your daimyo is another! Think about it, Tsunade is your niece! You don't even have gambling funds? What will those poor daimyo in the ninja world think? Won't they say your Land of Fire daimyo is poor, that you even have to sell your family property to get gambling funds for your niece!" Shanks suddenly became agitated, appearing to be concerned for the daimyo.

"........."

Looking at Shanks' facial expression and tone of voice, Kakashi realized it was the familiar money-grabbing tactic and silently mourned for Shanks for thirty seconds.

The three giants of Konoha acted as if they couldn't hear anything, watching the song and dance as if they didn't know who was speaking. It was so damn shameful. As the saying goes, you shouldn't wash your dirty linen in public, but this bastard was just trying to make money by talking about such a shameful thing in a very logical way.

“You’re right! How come I didn’t think of that! Tsunade is the princess of our Land of Fire! In that case, the Daimyo’s government will allocate 50 billion riel to the Senju clan every year. I’ve really made a mistake all these years. I never expected the Senju clan to be so reserved.” The Daimyo sighed.

"Cough cough!"

When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard about the 5 billion yen gambling stake every year, he almost choked on his cigarette smoke. The Land of Fire only allocates 20 billion yen to Konoha every year, and Tsunade alone took a quarter of that. He realized how easy it was to swindle money. However, thinking that Tsunade would eventually give the money to their Sarutobi Casino, he felt much better.